Stressful Peace
by HoofHaven
Summary: It's been a year and a half since Kagome returned to the Feudal Era, adjusting to her new life alongside her partner Inuyasha. But peace can only last for so long; when Inuyasha starts avoiding sleep due to nightmares and youkai suddenly become more aggressive, the old team is faced with their old wounds and unfinished battles. DISCONTINUED
1. Awake

**First of all I apologize to the people who author alerted me expecting complete Hunger Games fics- I'm actually kind of widespread in my fandoms, most of them in anime /shot |D It's probably recommended that you only have your favorite individual stories on alert unless you are in love with everything I write about (highly doubt so because I have WAY too many fandoms but whatever xP). So, forgive me xD**

**Oy oy, rocky starts as usual, huh? Just getting the story set up- might take a bit for it to sail smoothly xP Just give it time lmao**

**Disclaimer: Inuyasha, A Feudal Fairy Tale © Rumiko Takahashi – I am writing for entertainment purposes only~!**

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"_Together, Inuyasha and I...are bound for tomorrow."_

He was awake yet again.

She could see his silhouette leaned against the door frame, watching the moonlight, sitting cross-legged with Tessaiga slung over his shoulder like he used to do. Occasionally, his ears would twitch to pick up the lightest sounds, a glance at the other village houses. Had he not started the habit again recently, it would almost seem like a peaceful viewing. But to her, it was a sign something was stirring.

It had been a year and a half since Kagome was able to crossover from the well once more. Three years had been a lot to make up; so much had changed. Sango and Miroku had started a family that included three children in that time; Shippo had started his training to become a Fine Kitsune Youkai. It was almost overwhelming, to think of the time that had passed. Even now, adjustments to the full-on lifestyle of the feudal era still had to be made. Kagome had not bothered with trying to go back to her present time, or even pondering about it. With Inuyasha was where she belonged, and with him was where she would always stay.

Sliding the haori he placed over her off quietly, she rose and tried to walk silently to the sitting figure. Sensing motion, Inuyasha turned his head to catch it,his golden eye looking bold in the near darkness. At the recognition, the near glare turned into a soft glance, and he returned his view to the village. Kagome took her place beside him, and as if by routine their fingers intertwined. "You should be asleep." He said quietly as she leaned into him, resting her head on his shoulder.

"I would like to say the same to you." She replied. "Is everything alright?"

She caught the slight tense through his body that fled as quickly as it came. It was quiet for a few seconds before he answered her. "Everything's fine." He shifted so that his arm was laid comfortingly across her shoulders. "I just couldn't sleep."

It was a lie. They both knew he could sleep whenever he wanted – it was a matter of _why_ kept him from sleeping that unsettled her. A frown spread across her face. "You haven't been able to lately; something must be wrong."

The silver haired hanyou stayed silent, avoiding the question. Instead, his grip tightened and he pulled her closer. "I promise, Kagome; everything is fine." His words had a worn feeling about them, as if he was an old man who had lived one too many days. It scared her. "Besides, I have you. As long as you're with me, I have nothing to worry over."

They were past the point of blushing, or worrying over if they had gone too far, or what they said. A year and a half of marriage had eroded away all the embarrassment of relationship; they had discovered their feelings long before the three year separation. Yet something was nesting a corner of fear in Kagome's heart – she would not be able to live without the hanyou that was sitting by her side. He wouldn't let her become lonely, though...so why was she so afraid all of a sudden?

She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek, which startled him. It was a rare thing for them; something so sudden and out of the blue was definitely not expected. Jumping, he looked at her, clearly surprised, eyebrows raised. "Kagome..."

Lifting herself from his arms, she turned on her heel and returned to the dark, night-colored room. "Don't wear yourself, Inuyasha."She said quietly. Returning to the bed roll, she eased herself onto it, pulling over the covers and Inuyasha's fire rat haori. _And please don't make me worry._

–––o–––

Morning had crept it's way into the household; the light made the wooden floor rich with yellow tint. Kagome, rousing at a slow pace, blinked drowsily a few times to take everything in. She could tell that Miroku and Sango's girls were already up and about– as rambunctious as they were, a minute sleeping is a minute wasted in the morning time; their laughter was faint amongst the slowly growing bustle of the village. Rising, she froze as she felt a hand on her arm. A firm hand that could only be Inuyasha's; looking down she realized he was fast asleep.

It took her by surprise; he was always the first to wake for his duties in helping Miroku, leaving her to be with Kaede and Sango while she still adjusted to the full time life she now faced. Seeing him now, fast asleep, with a peaceful expression on his face, his chest rising and falling slowly. Kagome couldn't help but smile at the figure beside her; she had only seen him truly asleep twice since their first encounter. Almost wishing they could stay entrapped in this moment forever, she gently placed Inuyasha's hand on his chest before standing and going outside. Work had to be done, sooner or later.

"Ah! Kagome, Kagome!" Two voices squealed, and the twins came running out to greet her. Dressed in their usual pink and green, they immediately attached themselves to the bottom of her hakama, giggling. "Where's Inuyasha? Is he already out for the day? He's not with Daddy."

"I might ask the same," Miroku said, brushing through the entrance of his house and stepping outside to greet his friend. "He's usually up by now."

Kagome put a finger to her lips. "Asleep, still; he's had a lot of trouble sleeping lately." She glanced back at the frame where they had sat last night and a frown creased her face. "To be honest it has me worried."

Miroku followed her gaze to the house Inuyasha and her shared together. "I'm sure it will be fine. Most likely, it's his old habit. Our jobs are becoming busier, anyways– I think it will be suitable for him to have a day of rest. I can handle today."

_It's not his old habit,_ She thought gravely, but she smiled nonetheless. "I'll be sure to tell him when he wakes."

The monk returned her smile with a reassuring one before picking up the twins. "Okay, girls, you two keep an eye on your mother and stay out of Kagome's way. Alright?"

"Yes," They said in unison, almost sounding disappointed, but not a few seconds after they were squirming and dashing out of their father's arms, already laughing and continuing their games. Waving farewell to each other, Kagome and Miroku parted ways; one off to exterminate youkai, the other to continue new duties.

Lady Kaede was waiting patiently for Kagome, as usual; herbs at the ready for labeling and mixing in her woven basket. "Good morning," She greeted the younger woman, an elderly-woven smile on her face.

"Morning, Kaede." Kagome replied, nodding, glancing at the basket. "What's the plan for the day?"

"I've already got the herbs picked out; today we'll make medicine with them." The old woman said, beckoning her 'student' to follow into her hut.

The room smelled familiar and looked no different than she always remembered, no matter how many different possible versions her mind had tried to imagine during the three year period. The fire sat in the middle, crackling and eating at the wood, warming up the pot that had been prepared for today. "Shall we start?" Kaede asked, and Kagome started to set to work.

* * *

**Like I said, a bit slow and rough, but it will get better in due time XP Recently rewatched the Final Act, so hopefully I won't mess anything up? =3= If I get too OOC feel free for you hardcore critics to kick me back into it, I'd appreciate it if you did XD**

**As usual, reviews are appreciated and will be replied to if possible! Thanks muchly for reading and hope to see more! **


	2. Dreams

**Ahhhh the reviews on the first chapter ;u; You guys are so awesome and helpful! I actually had this chapter started the moment I finished the first one, way before the first chapter was even published (The 1rst chapter in truth was around three days old before published ^^) – I've just been real sick the past few days so I haven't really made just a whole lot of progress on it. So I think most of you will be glad that it picks up at least a little? Maybe? Most of this was actually written very, very late/early in the morning; the rest of the chapters will most likely follow. I hope I can meet to your expectations, since I set the bar for myself with the first, so hopefully I'll keep up with my writing! Thanks so much for reading!**

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Kagome's brow was scrunched up, full of determination and frustration as she tried to weave the base of the basket together. Sango's stood upright before her as reference, tight woven and perfect looking, with the weaver sitting at the side.

"Need me to show you how again?" Sango asked, hands raised in case Kagome needed help, patiently watching her friend try and imitate her work. Bangs sticking to her forehead with sweat, the inexperienced girl huffed and shook her head as she finished one row and set to the next. Sitting outside in the hot sun all afternoon had made her bitter; even though the sun had started to set and autumn had begun, the heat had only just started to cool down. At this point she wanted nothing more than to finish the basket as needed and go home to Inuyasha. The thought made her frown. "I haven't seen Inuyasha all day." She said, pausing a moment at the realization, before setting back to weaving.

Sango's eyebrows arched up in surprise. "He's not with Miroku?"

"I talked to him this morning; he told me to let Inuyasha know he had a day of rest. He was still asleep when I went to Kaede's." Her fingers slipped and she lost the section she was weaving. Her nose wrinkled as she regained it, trying to remember where she left of and what to do next. Sango glanced at the hut Kagome and Inuyasha shared, thinking.

"Do you think he's still asleep?" She asked, taking the basket base from Kagome's hands and fixing the errors quickly before returning it. "I don't think I've ever seen him sleep that much. Surely he isn't."

The thought made Kagome worry–Inuyasha didn't sleep this long, ever. No matter how long he's gone without sleep, no matter how fatigued he was, it only a took a few hours for the hanyou to wake up fully prepared for battle. Not exactly well rested, but he could go for days on just a little bit of sleep. "I think I'm going to go check on him." She said, no longer able to focus on the weaving that had once more been lost. "I'll try this weaving again tomorrow; it's definitely not my specialty."

The youkai exterminator laughed quietly. "It's alright, you'll get it in due time; it took me several weeks to make my first." The thought of spending weeks on one stupid basket made Kagome stifle a scowl; she was not a craftswoman in the slightest and did not enjoy sitting in the grass for hours trying to remember what to do, step after step. "Maybe luck will be on my side this time," She replied, almost to herself than to her friend, before parting ways and heading towards her hut.

_Kikyo glanced at him, keeping her distance. There was not recognition, remorse, joy, or any of the sort in her eyes; she only saw him as he was. A silencing mood seemed to air about her, almost in a barricade. What was she doing here? Had she not been at peace like he thought?_

"_Kikyo..." He started to say, taking a step forward and reaching out a hand, when his chest was pierced. He was on the tree again and the Shikon Jewel was slipping out of his fingers, falling to the ground softly with a few chinks in reply. Surprise and pain made his spine shiver as his eyes went from the priestess standing away from him to the arrow now protruding out of his chest, pinning him to the sacred tree. "..?"_

"_I am not the one responsible for this, Inuyasha." Kikyo said, eyes narrowing. "I am merely here to watch." She was right; her bow had not once been touched and her quiver was not short an arrow. Dread started to fill him as he realized what she was saying. Beyond Kikyo's figure lay an injured Kagome, bow frozen in place aimed at him and the string still humming from being released. Panting to get a breath, her eyes flickered, and the deep shoulder wound stained her garment maroon with blood. The stench overwhelmed him; he was losing it._

"_Kagome...!" He shouted, eyes widening in disbelief. "Kagome..Kagome...KAGOME!"_

"_She doesn't hear you, Inuyasha." Kikyo snapped, keeping her calm and collected surface. "This is how it will all end up once more. You cannot avoid your fate; you escaped it once with me, but this time there will be nobody to save you from what you are destined to endure." Her face furrowed. "Did you really think she would be any different? Did you think, just because you are married and cherish her, you were safe from history repeating itself?"_

_This wasn't Kikyo, he knew now, but the words still severed him in half. His fears were going to tear him limb from limb, and even to smaller pieces after. "Shut the hell up!" He tried to snarl, but he was shaking. His claws had long before broke the skin on his hands, digging into them painfully as he clenched his fists. Kagome caught his eye again as she struggled to stand, or even kneel, one last time._

"_I...nu.." _

_What light that was left in her eyes faded to black as his barely uttered name was left unfinished. It was almost slow and graceful, the way she crumpled, the life fleeting out of her, taking the energy needed to whisper the final part of his name with it. _

_No. This wasn't happening, it was just a dream, it had to be a dream–_

"INUYASHA!"

His eyes snapped open and he lurched up, fangs bared and claws raised, ready for attack. The crack of his knuckles was loud enough to bounce off the small hut's walls – it took him a few seconds to pull himself out of attack mode. "Huh–?"

"_Sit, boy!"_

The beads around his neck glowed for a moment before heeding to the spell; the hanyou was slammed into the ground in an instance, his guard completely lost. Relief spread through him for a moment; it really had only been a dream. But only just for a moment did he feel the at ease sense. Forcing himself off the ground, a scowl planted on his face, he turned his eyes up only to meet an equally furious Kagome. "What was that for?"

Her body was shaking with anger, and finally did he notice the red spot on her cheek. She didn't bother to acknowledge it. "You were having a nightmare." She said, barely managing to keep a level head. "A cold sweat, turning over, I try to wake you up and I get a fist in my face–!"

Whatever she had been saying was cut off abruptly by Inuyasha clamping a hand over her mouth. "Shh." He said, ears twitching as his eyes narrowed. "Do you hear that?"

Kagome resisted the urge to bite his hand, but an unfamiliar hum did seem to just be within her hearing range. And growing steadily louder. Going rigid as a deer as she listened further, she pushed Inuyasha's hand away. "It's heading for the village, whatever it is." She said, reaching for her bow and quiver. The touch of it nearly made her jump; the smooth wood of the bow seemed so foreign to her now. _I haven't shot an arrow in four and a half years. _Inuyasha was already sprinting out of the hut, hand attached to the hilt of the sheathed Tetsusaiga. Stiffening her hand around the bow, Kagome slung the quiver full of arrows around her shoulder and followed.

"What's going on?" Sango shouted, dodging out of her hut with Hiraikotsu in hand. The old battle weapon looked almost strange in the mother of three's hands; with their old battles finished, the Hiraikotsu had no choice but to hang up on the wall, retired. Jogging out to join up with the other two, she took her place beside Kagome just as the humming cut off and before them stood a demon.

She was tall and slender, figure not unlike the demon Yura's; hourglass shaped with definite beauty. Atop her head sat a rather large pair of red ears, black tipped and twitching as she took in her surroundings; several tails flicked in irritation behind her legs. Red eyes narrowed and fastened onto the trio, her mouth curling into a smirk. "Well, it seems there's more an audience than intended."

"Who the hell are you?" Inuyasha snarled back, drawing out the Tetsusaiga and letting the weight catch in his hands as it was pointed at her. Her eyes stared at the massive sword for a moment, her expression unchanged. She wasn't phased at all by the threatening demeanor of a _hanyou_.

"I don't think it really matters to _you_, half-breed." She said, shifting her eyes to the miko that stood with a bow in hand. "My business here only regards to one person. So butt out." Lunging forward with a devilish grin on her face, Kagome only had a moment to gasp before the firm hands of the youkai attached themselves to her throat and dug her nails in. "Kagome!" Inuyasha shouted, rage spilling over in his voice.

"Tsk tsk, caaaaaareful, half-breed~!" The youkai grinned. "One strike with that sword of yours and I'll transfer all the damage down to your precious little miko! That is, if you don't kill her on your own first. Ninetails like me have a tendency to do that, so I'd think carefully."

"..You're a fox demon?" Sango asked, eyes narrowed in disgust she held Hiraikotsu above her head threateningly. Kagome was struggling, but out of the corner of her half closed eye she was glancing at her friend. _Don't do it. _

The ears flattened straight down on the feminine youkai's head and she bared her teeth. "Don't throw Ninetails in with those damn fox youkai. We may carry similar traits, but we are _far_ superior to those stupid beings with only simple magic to their name." Her fangs peeked out from her upper lip as she snarled at the retired demon exterminator. "I _should_ cut you both down, along with little Miko here, but I was given simple orders. Take it as a gift that I let you two live." Turning her attention to Kagome once more, she dug her claws in to the side of hr neck, drawing blood. "This will only take a moment." She giggled, devilish grin returned.

* * *

_Nobody was there. She wasn't laying, nor standing, nor moving or falling, she was just...there. Kagome blinked, taking in the white haze that was her surroundings, her mind as muddled as the fog. "Where..?" She asked herself, but her throat stiffened and a warm liquid slowly rolled down the slope into her shoulder. Touching it, her hand came away red._

"_Don't worry about that." A voice said, and suddenly the red-haired Ninetail was in front of her. "It won't affect you here."_

"_Where am I?" Kagome snapped, wishing desperately that she still had her bow and arrows. _

"_Does it really matter?" The youkai asked impatiently, her marble-like face wrinkling with a scowl. "I'm here to _warn_ you. Have some respect." Stretching out her hand, she offered it for Kagome's taking, ears flickering irritably. "It won't be the first time we meet, miko, so I suggest you get comfy in your surroundings. You and your little half-breed will visit me often from now on."_

_Inuysasha. "What does he have anything to do with this?" Kagome asked, frowning. "I don't see what you have to warn us about. Naraku is dead. The Shikon Jewel is gone from the world."_

"_My name is Kita," Ninetails said, ignoring Kagome's question. "Other than that, I am not under orders to assassinate, but to assist. This is the only time you will see me in the real world; from here on I will contact you and your brat of a hanyou as I am now." Her brow furrowed in annoyance at the thought of the hanyou. "No matter how much I'd like to kill _him._"_

_Raising her claw and showing the dripping blood from it, Kita once again offered her hand. "Come." She ordered. "I don't have any time left today– my duty was to give you the message, and that only. I shall take you back to the real world."_

"_...What have you come to warn me about?" Kagome asked suspiciously, staring at the bloodied hand, hesitation thick in her words. "I don't know if you're lying or not."_

_A growl rumbled in Kita's throat. "Save that question for tonight, stupid girl. My patience is waning; I wouldn't have troubled myself dealing with you had it not been necessary." This time, she didn't offer her hand–she grabbed Kagome's impatiently, whatever kind of politeness she had spent, and dragged her forward. "Tonight." She muttered again, and Kagome was alone again._

* * *

She swore she heard a pop the moment she regained her senses. "Kagome, can you hear me? Kagome!"

"Hush, Inuyasha. Let her wake on her own." Kaede's voice was reprimanding towards the hanyou as Kagome listened to them bicker for a minute before she began the task of moving her hand, which seemed to weigh more than she could muster. Maybe her eyes? Those were too heavy as well. Taking in a breath and sighing quietly, she tried to muster up some energy to say at least _one_ word. "Inuyasha.."

The squabble between the old priestess and the hanyou ceased immediately at the barely audible croak. "Kagome...!"

Suddenly his hands were grabbing her and pulling her tightly to his chest, his breath hitched with worry and panic emphasized inhis actions. "Stupid wench!" He snarled at her, but she could tell he was hiding his anxiety. "You just lay there like some sort of idiot, what were you thinking?"

"Don't attack her now, Inuyasha. Let her rest." Kaede's voice requested, low and gentle once more. "She will be fine unless you keep shaking her like that."

"What was that, you old hag?" Inuyasha snarled, and by the scuffle of feet he had turned away with a loud "Keh!"

Already the dull throb of various areas throughout her body were convincing her sleep was better than any other options she had, which were limited to begin with. Slowly drifting off into a rather peaceful sleep, something seemed to whisper into her ear.

"_I'll show you another dream tonight."_

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**This was written over quite a set amount of days, so I apologize for inconsistency |D 4 AM here when this was finished.**

**And before anyone asks, no, Kita is not a self insert/OC, she's a character I thought up on the spot, but she still will help along the way. Just want to clear that up LOL**

**Thanks for reading :)**


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